Spider-Man: Brand New Day recently got people’s attention when it was reported that Jon Bernthal’s Punisher would be joining the project, teaming Tom Holland’s Spider-Man up with one of the more lethal heroes in the MCU for the very first time. That’s already going to be quite the team-up, but what if they had to face one of the strongest characters in the Marvel universe as well? That would sure be something, and a new rumor indicates that could very well be what’s happening in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and in the process, it would also deliver a long-wanted tie to several lingering MCU threads.
DanielRPK is reporting that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will see the return of Savage Hulk, and that he’ll actually be an antagonist for at least part of the movie (via ScreenGeek). RPK wrote, “have confirmed [that] at least part of the movie is Spider-Man and Punisher teaming up to fight Savage Hulk.” If this ends up being the final decision, it’s a major deal for a few reasons, including that it would start a new arc for everyone’s favorite jade giant.
A New Era
Let’s start with the fact that it’s been a minute since fans have seen Hulk, and he had a pretty substantial cliffhanger reveal when it happened. Hulk was a big part of She-Hulk’s premiere episode, but in episode 2 he departs and heads to Sakaar. Then, in the final episode of the season, he finally returns, but he isn’t alone, as he introduces Jennifer and the rest of the cast to his son, Skaar.
Since then we haven’t heard anything about Skaar or Hulk, so just seeing Hulk in action again, especially on the big screen, would be welcome. Hulk hasn’t been featured in a feature film since Avengers: Endgame in 2019, and a major part of his arc in Infinity War and Endgame was the emergence of his smart Hulk persona, which combines the strength of his original form and the smarts of Bruce Banner. He is firmly in control when we last see him in She-Hulk, but if he returns to the Savage Hulk persona (or enters a new phase of that persona), that would be a fitting way to begin a new chapter in his individual saga.
Savage Hulk Impact
Then there are the bigger implications to consider regarding the MCU in general. If Hulk is back to his more savage nature, he poses a threat to the entire populace, and that would make for some interesting scenarios for Spider-Man and Punisher to navigate in. That’s likely already an issue between the two upon first meeting anyway, so having Hulk push that to 11 and create spaces where Punisher is just trying to kill Hulk while Spider-Man is trying to keep that from happening as he also attempts to save people around him could make for some truly compelling storytelling.
This would also bode well for those who want to see the MCU’s take on World War Hulk. DanielRPK indicates that Brand New Day will include parts of Gang War, which will be part of why Savage Hulk is unleashed in the film, but that could also be used to connect a story of how the Banner is now losing control of the beast inside. That could then be the key to bringing back a deadlier Hulk, especially if he has to save Earth or his allies from something that only his more savage persona can handle, leading him to give in completely and being unable to regain control.
Plus, if something pushes him over the edge in regards to the heroes of Earth, we could see that morph into a full-on attack on Earth’s heroes like we saw in World War Hulk, which Skaar would obviously play some sort of role in. Granted, some changes would need to be made to the overall story thanks to everything that happened in Thor Ragnarok, but you could still get there with some tweaks.
This would also be a way for fans to get some closure regarding the deleted scene from Infinity War, which had Hulk bursting out of his Hulkbuster armor in Wakanda, triumphantly returning to the battlefield after hiding away for the majority of the film, which was tied to the walloping he received at the hands of Thanos.
What do you think of Savage Hulk’s return, and do you like the idea of him returning in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things Marvel and movies with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
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